System and method to determine responsiveness of a driver of a vehicle to feedback regarding driving behaviors

ABSTRACT

This disclosure relates to a system and method for determining responsiveness of a driver of a vehicle to feedback regarding driving behaviors. The system may include a sensor configured to generate output signals conveying first driving behavior information, which may characterize operation of the vehicle by the driver. The system may include one or more processors configured to obtain the first driving behavior information. The one or more processors may effectuate provision of feedback defined by feedback information based on the first driving behavior. The sensor may be configured to output signals conveying second driving behavior information, which may characterize operation of the vehicle by the driver during and/or subsequent to the provision of the feedback. The one or more processors may be configured to obtain the second driving behavior information and assess responsiveness of the driver to the feedback based on the second driving behavior information.

FIELD

This disclosure relates to a system and method for determiningresponsiveness of a driver of a vehicle to feedback regarding drivingbehaviors.

BACKGROUND

Systems configured to record, store, and transmit video, audio, andsensor data associated with a vehicle are known. Vehicle Engine ControlModule (ECM) systems are known. Such systems interface with externalcomputers (e.g., at an automobile mechanic) where the data stored by theECM system is analyzed.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the disclosure relates to a system configured to determineresponsiveness of a driver of a vehicle to feedback regarding drivingbehaviors. Some or all of the system may be installed in the vehicleand/or be otherwise coupled with the vehicle. The system may include oneor more processors and/or other components. In some implementations, theone or more processors may be located remotely from the vehicle. In someimplementations, the one or more processors may be located on or in thevehicle. In some implementations, the system may include a sensor. Thesensor may be configured to generate output signals conveying one ormore of first driving behavior information and/or second drivingbehavior information. The sensor may include one or more of imagesensors, audio sensors, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, vehiclespeed sensors, wheel speed sensors, proximity sensors, pressure sensors,seat belt sensors, accelerometers, tilt sensors, inclination sensors,angular rate sensors, gyroscopes, geolocation sensors, magnetometers,radar detectors, radar sensors, vibration sensors, light detectionsensors, ECM sensors, physiological sensors, tachographs, user inputdevices, and/or other sensors. In some implementations, the firstdriving behavior information and the second driving behavior informationmay include one or more of visual information, audio information, motioninformation, acceleration information, location information, spatialinformation, orientation information, tilt information,inclination/declination information, vibration information, timeinformation, vehicle status information, driver status information,and/or other driving behavior information.

The one or more processors may be configured to obtain the first drivingbehavior information. The first driving behavior information maycharacterize operation of the vehicle by the driver. The operation ofthe vehicle may be characterized by one or more of visual information,audio information, motion information, acceleration information,location information, spatial information, orientation information, tiltinformation, inclination/declination information, vibration information,time information, vehicle status information, driver status information,and/or other driving behavior information.

The one or more processors may be configured to determine an occurrenceof a trigger based on the first driving behavior information. Thetrigger may indicate a specific driving behavior. The specific drivingbehavior may include one or more of driving maneuver, driving context,vehicle status, driver status, and/or other driving behavior.

The one or more processors may be configured to obtain feedbackinformation regarding the specific driving behavior. The feedbackinformation may define feedback regarding the specific driving behaviorto be provided to the driver. Such feedback information may definefeedback type(s) for the feedback, information to be provided to thedriver in the feedback, and/or other aspects of the feedback. Thefeedback type(s) may include one or more of visual feedback, audiofeedback, haptic feedback, and/or other feedback. The information to beprovided to the driver may include one or more of identification of thespecific driving behavior, description of the specific driving behavior,the first driving behavior information, instruction regarding thespecific driving behavior, warning regarding the specific drivingbehavior, and/or any other communicable information. The feedbackinformation may be programmed into the one or more processors, updatedby the one or more processors, obtained by the one or more processorsfrom electronic storage, obtained by the one or more processors fromremote location, and/or obtained by the one or more processors in otherways.

The one or more processors may be configured to effectuate provision offeedback defined by the feedback information to the driver. In someimplementations, the one or more processors may be configured toeffectuate the provision of the feedback to the driver by operating oneor more of a display, a speaker, and/or a haptic generator. In someimplementations, the one or more processors may be configured to selectone or more of the display, the speaker, and/or the haptic generator toeffectuate the provision of the feedback to the driver. The one or moreprocessors may select one or more of the display, the speaker, and/orthe haptic generator based on prior driver responsiveness information.The one or more processors may make such selection based on which typeof feedback provision leads to better driver responsiveness to feedback.

The one or more processors may be configured to obtain the seconddriving behavior information. The second driving behavior informationmay characterize operation of the vehicle by the driver during and/orsubsequent to the provision of the feedback. The one or more processorsmay be configured to assess responsiveness of the driver to the feedbackbased on the second driving behavior information. In someimplementations, the one or more processors may be configured todetermine a driver responsiveness rating. The driver responsivenessrating may include one or more measurement and/or evaluation of thedriver's responsiveness to the feedback. The driver responsivenessrating may use one or more characters, alphabetic characters, words,numeric characters, numbers, alphanumeric characters, roman numerals,special characters, percentages, colors, and/or other ratings. Thedriver responsiveness rating may reflect one or more of quality and/orquantity of the driver's responsiveness to the feedback.

In some implementations, the one or more processors may be configured toeffectuate storage of driver responsiveness information. The driverresponsiveness information may be stored in electronic storage. Theelectronic storage may include one or more of memory of the one or moreprocessors, electronic storage coupled to the one or more processors,and/or other electronic storage. The driver responsiveness informationmay include one or more of the first driving behavior information, thesecond driving behavior information, the feedback information,information relating to the provision of the feedback, informationrelating to the trigger, information relating to the responsiveness ofthe driver to the feedback, and/or other driver responsivenessinformation. In some implementations, the one or more processors may beconfigured to effectuate retrieval of prior driver responsivenessinformation. The prior driver responsiveness information may includestored driver responsiveness information.

In some implementations, the one or more processors may be configured toassess the responsiveness of the driver to the feedback based on theprior driver responsiveness information. The one or more processors maycompare current responsiveness of the driver to the feedback with priordriver responsiveness information. In some implementations, the currentresponsiveness and the prior driver responsiveness information are basedon the same trigger. In some implementations, the current responsivenessand the prior driver responsiveness information are based on differenttriggers. In some implementations, the current responsiveness and theprior driver responsiveness information are based on the same type offeedback provision. In some implementations, the current responsivenessand the prior driver responsiveness information are based on differenttypes of feedback provision.

These and other objects, features, and characteristics of the systemand/or method disclosed herein, as well as the methods of operation andfunctions of the related elements of structure and the combination ofparts and economies of manufacture, will become more apparent uponconsideration of the following description and the appended claims withreference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of thisspecification, wherein like reference numerals designate correspondingparts in the various figures. It is to be expressly understood, however,that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and descriptiononly and are not intended as a definition of the limits of theinvention. As used in the specification and in the claims, the singularform of “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless the contextclearly dictates otherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a system configured to determine responsiveness of adriver of a vehicle to feedback regarding driving behaviors.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method to determine responsiveness of a driver of avehicle to feedback regarding driving behaviors.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 10 configured to provide feedback to adriver of vehicle 11 regarding driving behavior while operating vehicle11. Such feedback may be presented to the driver during the same drivingsession in which the driving behavior occurred. This may includeproviding feedback to the driver in real time, near real time, and/or atother times during the driving session. System 10 may be configured tomonitor driving behavior during and/or after provision of such feedback.From this monitoring, system 10 may determine responsiveness of a driverof vehicle 11 to feedback regarding driving behaviors. System 10 mayinclude one or more of first processor 12 a, second processor 12 b,electronic storage 13, sensor 14, feedback devices 15, and/or othercomponents. Feedback devices 15 may include one or more of display 16,speaker 17, haptic generator 18, and/or other feedback devices. Some orall of system 10 may be installed in vehicle 11 and/or be otherwisecoupled, directly or indirectly, with vehicle 11. By way of non-limitingexample, second processor 12 b may be located remotely from vehicle 11,while first processor 12 a, sensor 14, display 16, speaker 17, andhaptic generator 18 may be located on or in vehicle 11. By way ofnon-limiting example, second processor 12 b may be in a server locatedremotely from vehicle 11 and may communicate with first processor 12 a,sensor 14, display 16, speaker 17, haptic generator 18, and/or othercomponents over network 19. Electronic storage 13 may be locatedremotely from vehicle 11, or on or in vehicle 11. Electronic storage 13may be located remotely from first processor 12 a and/or secondprocessor 12 b.

Electronic storage 13 may comprise electronic storage media thatelectronically stores information. The electronic storage media ofelectronic storage 13 may comprise one or both of system storage that isprovided integrally (i.e., substantially non-removable) with system 10and/or removable storage that is removably connectable to system 10 via,for example, a port (e.g., a USB port, a firewire port, etc.) or a drive(e.g., a disk drive, etc.). Electronic storage 13 may comprise one ormore of optically readable storage media (e.g., optical disks, etc.),magnetically readable storage media (e.g., magnetic tape, magnetic harddrive, floppy drive, etc.), electrical charge-based storage media (e.g.,EEPROM, RAM, etc.), solid-state storage media (e.g., flash drive, etc.),and/or other electronically readable storage media. Electronic storage13 may store software instructions, driving behavior information,trigger information, feedback information, information relating to theprovision of feedback, driver responsiveness information, informationdetermined by first processor 12 a, information determined by secondprocessor 12 b, and/or other information that enables system 10 tofunction properly. Electronic storage 13 may be (in whole or in part) aseparate component within system 10, or electronic storage 13 may beprovided (in whole or in part) integrally with one or more othercomponents of system 10. By way of non-limiting example, electronicstorage 13 may include one or more memory of first processor 12 a,memory of second processor 12 b, electronic storage coupled to firstprocessor 12 a, electronic storage coupled to second processor 12 b,and/or other electronic storage.

Although electronic storage 13 is shown in FIG. 1 as a single entity,this is for illustrative purposes only. In some implementations,electronic storage 13 may comprise a plurality of storage units. Thesestorage units may be physically located within the same device (e.g., avehicle event recorder), or electronic storage 13 may represent storagefunctionality of a plurality of devices operating in coordination.

Sensor 14 may be configured to generate output signals conveying drivingbehavior information. Sensor 14 may include one or more of imagesensors, audio sensors, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, vehiclespeed sensors, wheel speed sensors, proximity sensors, pressure sensors,seat belt sensors, accelerometers, tilt sensors, inclination sensors,angular rate sensors, gyroscopes, geolocation sensors, magnetometers,radar detectors, radar sensors, vibration sensors, light detectionsensors, ECM sensors, physiological sensors, tachographs, user inputdevices, and/or other sensors. In some implementations, the drivingbehavior information may include one or more of visual information,audio information, motion information, acceleration information,location information, spatial information, orientation information, tiltinformation, inclination/declination information, vibration information,time information, vehicle status information, driver status information,and/or other driving behavior information.

Although sensor 14 is depicted in FIG. 1 as a single element, this isnot intended to be limiting. Sensor 14 may include one or more sensorslocated adjacent to and/or in communication with the various mechanicalsystems of vehicle 11, in one or more positions (e.g., at or near thefront of vehicle 11) to accurately acquire information representing thevehicle environment (e.g. visual information, spatial information,orientation information), and/or in other locations. For example, insome implementations, sensor 14 may include one or more on-boarddiagnostics sensors of vehicle 11. In some implementations, sensor 14may include one or more accelerometers to detect suddenacceleration/deceleration of vehicle 11. Other sensors are contemplated

One or more feedback devices 15 may be included on or in vehicle 11. Theone or more feedback devices 15 may include one or more of display 16,speaker 17, haptic generator 18, and/or other feedback devices. Feedbackdevices 15 may be configured to provide feedback defined by feedbackinformation to the driver of vehicle 11.

Display 16 may provide feedback to the driver through visual informationpresented on display 16. Display 16 may be integrated with vehicle 11.By way of non-limiting example, display 16 may include one or more of adashboard display, a global positioning system (GPS) navigation display,a front view camera display, a rear view camera display, and/or otherdisplays. Display 16 may not be integral with vehicle 11. By way ofnon-limiting example, display 16 may include one or more of aftermarketdisplay, computer, laptop, tablet, smartphone, and/or other displays.

Speaker 17 may provide feedback through audio information. Speaker 17may include a speaker in a sound system of vehicle 11. Speaker 17 maynot be integral with vehicle 11. Speaker 17 may include a headphone, anearphone, a headset, an earset, and/or other speakers. Speaker 17 mayinclude a speaker associated with display 16.

Haptic generator 18 may provide feedback through haptic information. Thehaptic information may include vibration, motion, temperature changes,and/or other haptic information. For example, vibration and/or hapticfeedback may be short, long, and/or of varying intensity. The intensityof vibration and/or haptic feedback may vary over time. Haptic generator18 may be located in one or other places inside vehicle 11. By way ofnon-limiting example, haptic generator 18 may be located in a seat, aheadrest, an armrest, a driving wheel, a door, a floor, and/or otherlocations in the vehicle. Haptic generator 18 may not be integral withvehicle 11. For example, haptic generator 18 may include a device or anobject associated with the driver of vehicle 11, such as a computer,laptop, tablet, smartphone, headphone, earphone, headset, earset,headwear, smartwatch, fitness band, wristwear, and/or other device orobject.

One or more components of system 10 may communicate with each otherthrough hard-wired communication, wireless communication, or both. Forexample, second processor 12 b may communicate with sensor 14 over awireless network. Other types of communications are contemplated by thepresent disclosure. By way of non-limiting example, wirelesscommunication may include one or more of radio communication, Bluetoothcommunication, Wi-Fi communication, cellular communication, infraredcommunication, or other wireless communication.

First processor 12 a and/or second processor 12 b may be configured toprovide information processing capabilities in system 10. As such, firstprocessor 12 a and/or second processor 12 b may comprise one or more ofa digital processor, an analog processor, a digital circuit designed toprocess information, a central processing unit, a graphics processingunit, a microcontroller, an analog circuit designed to processinformation, a state machine, and/or other mechanisms for electronicallyprocessing information.

First processor 12 a and/or second processor 12 b may be configured toexecute one or more computer program components. The computer programcomponents may include one or more of sensing component 20, triggercomponent 21, feedback component 22, provision component 23, responsecomponent 24, feedback adjustment component 25 and/or other components.By way of non-limiting example, first processor 12 a may be configuredto execute one or more of sensing component 20, trigger component 21,feedback component 22, provision component 23, and/or other components,and second processor 12 b may be configured to execute one or more ofresponse component 24, feedback adjustment component 25, and/or othercomponents. The computer program components configured to be executed byfirst processor 12 a and second processor 12 b may not be exclusive toone processor. By way of non-limiting example, both first processor 12 aand second processor 12 b may be configured to execute sensing component20. First processor 12 a and second processor 12 b may be configured toexecute the same computer program component at the same time or atdifferent times.

Sensing component 20 may be configured to obtain driving behaviorinformation. The driving behavior information may characterize operationof vehicle 11 by the driver. The operation of vehicle 11 may becharacterized by one or more of visual information, audio information,motion information, acceleration information, location information,spatial information, orientation information, tilt information,inclination/declination information, vibration information, timeinformation, vehicle status information, driver status information,and/or other driving behavior information. Sensing component 20 may beconfigured to obtain driving behavior information at different times.Sensing component 20 may be configured to obtain driving behaviorinformation prior to provision of feedback to the driver of vehicle 11,and during and/or subsequent to the provision of the feedback to thedriver.

Visual information may include one or more of an image, a video, and/orother visual information. Visual information may include one or morevisual information regarding vehicle 11, objects inside vehicle 11,objects outside vehicle 11, amount of light around vehicle 11, and/orother visual information. Audio information may include one or moreaudio information regarding audio from vehicle 11, audio inside vehicle11, audio outside vehicle 11, and/or other audio information.

Motion information may include one or more motion information regardingspeed of vehicle 11, distance traveled by vehicle 11, and/or movement ofvehicle 11, including one or more of moving forward, moving backwards,moving right, moving left, turning left, turning right, and/or othermovement, and/or other motion information. Acceleration information mayinclude one or more acceleration information regarding acceleration ofvehicle 11, including acceleration and/or deceleration of vehicle 11 inany direction or angle, and/or other acceleration information.

Location information may include one or more location informationregarding the location of vehicle 11, including location determined by aGPS, location on or off a road, location inside or outside a structure(e.g., building, parking lot, garage, etc.), and/or other locationinformation. Spatial information may include one or more spatialinformation regarding the space around vehicle 11, including distancebetween vehicle 11 and nearby objects (e.g., sign, guard rail, post,person, animal, vehicle, structure, road marking, such as white line,yellow line, stop line, etc.), direction from vehicle 11 to nearbyobjects, and/or other spatial information. Orientation information mayinclude one or more orientation information regarding vehicle 11relative to the space around vehicle 11, including the orientation ofvehicle 11 relative to nearby objects, and/or other orientationinformation.

Tilt information may include one or more tilt information regarding leftor right sloping position and/or movement of vehicle 11, and/or othertilt information. Inclination/declination information may include one ormore inclination/declination information regarding upward or downwardsloping position and/or movement of vehicle 11, and/or otherinclination/declination information. Vibration information may includeone or more vibration information regarding vibration of vehicle 11, oneor more components of vehicle 11, and/or haptic generator 18, includingthe duration and/or intensity of vibration, and/or other vibrationinformation. Time information may include one or more time informationregarding the time of day, duration relating to one or more drivingbehavior information, and/or other time information.

Vehicle status information may include one or more vehicle statusinformation regarding physical features of vehicle 11, mechanicalsystems of vehicle 11, and/or other vehicle status information. Physicalfeatures of vehicle 11 may include physical features of vehicle 11 setduring manufacture of vehicle 11, during loading of vehicle 11, and/orat other times. Physical features of vehicle 11 may include vehicle type(e.g., a car, a bus, a semi-truck, a tanker truck), a vehicle size(e.g., length), a vehicle weight (e.g., including cargo and/or withoutcargo), a number of gears, a number of axles, a type of load carried byvehicle 11 (e.g., food items, livestock, construction materials,hazardous materials, an oversized load, a liquid), vehicle trailer type,trailer length, trailer weight, trailer height, a number of traileraxles, and/or other physical features.

Mechanical systems of vehicle 11 may include an engine, a drive train,lighting systems (e.g., headlights, brake lights), a braking system, atransmission, fuel delivery systems, and/or other mechanical systems. Byway of non-limiting example, vehicle status information regardingmechanical systems of vehicle 11 may include amount of fuel, temperatureof engine, temperature inside and/or outside vehicle 11, amount of airpressure inside one or more tires, whether one or more tires are flat,gear in use, whether horn is being used, whether seatbelt is being used,whether one or more doors are open or closed, information from thevehicle ECM system/sensors, whether vehicle 11 is operating (e.g.,turned on and/or being driven, etc.), whether vehicle 11 is notoperating (e.g., turned off and/or not being driven, etc.), and/or othermechanical systems information.

Driver status information may include one or more driver statusinformation regarding the driver of vehicle 11. By way of non-limitingexample, driver status information regarding the driver may includewhether the driver is alert, whether driver is sleepy or sleeping,whether driver is using a headphone, whether driver is watching theroad, whether the driver is distracted, whether the driver is watchingTV, whether the driver is eating, whether the driver is driving with onehand, whether the driver is talking on the phone, the driver'shistorical accident information, the driver's historical trafficviolation information, the driver's historical driving patterninformation, and/or other driver status information.

Driver status information may be generated by one or more sensors. Byway of non-limiting example, an image sensor may count the number oftime vehicle 11 swerves within a certain duration of time to determinewhether the driver is sleepy or sleeping. For example, an image sensormay be used to track the driver's eye or head movements and aphysiological sensor may be used to track the driver's heart rate todetermine whether the driver is sleepy or sleeping. As another example,user input devices (e.g., keyboard, keypad, touchscreen, mouse, etc.)may be used to identify the driver.

Trigger component 21 may be configured to determine an occurrence of atrigger based on the driving behavior information. The trigger mayindicate a specific driving behavior. An occurrence of a trigger may bedetermined as described below, or as described in U.S. Pat. No.8,892,310, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD TO DETECT EXECUTION OF DRIVINGMANEUVERS,” the foregoing being incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. The specific driving behavior may include one or more ofspecific driving maneuver, specific driving context, specific vehiclestatus, specific driver status, and/or other specific driving behavior.In some implementations, one or more triggers may be based on theidentity of the driver. For example, a driver may be identified throughone or more inputs entered via one or more user input devices. Triggercomponent 21 may determine an occurrence of a trigger that is specificto the identified driver.

Trigger component 21 may be configured to determine that a trigger hasoccurred when the driving behavior information indicates occurrence ofone or more of a specific driving maneuver, a specific driving context,a specific vehicle status, a specific driver status, and/or otherspecific driving behavior corresponding to the specific drivingbehavior. Criteria for occurrence of one or more triggers may bereferred to as a trigger logic. The trigger logic may be programmed intotrigger component 21, updated by trigger component 21, obtained bytrigger component 21 from electronic storage 13, obtained by triggercomponent 21 from remote location, and/or obtained by trigger component21 in other ways.

A driving maneuver may refer to one or more motions and/or operations ofvehicle 11. The motion of a vehicle may refer to motion of the vehicleat a time, motion of the vehicle over a period of time, motion of thevehicle at a location, and/or motion of the vehicle over a distance. Theoperation of a vehicle may refer to operation of the vehicle at a time,operation of the vehicle over a period of time, operation of the vehicleat a location, and/or operation of the vehicle over a distance. Aspecific driving maneuver may be defined by one or more of specificvisual information, specific audio information, specific motioninformation, specific acceleration information, specific locationinformation, specific spatial information, specific orientationinformation, specific tilt information, specific inclination/declinationinformation, specific vibration information, specific time information,and/or other specific driving behavior information.

By way of non-limiting example, the specific driving maneuver mayinclude swerving, a U-turn, freewheeling, over-revving, lane-departure,short following distance, imminent collision, unsafe turning thatapproaches rollover and/or vehicle stability limits, hard braking, rapidacceleration, idling, driving outside geo-fence boundary, crossingdouble-yellow lines, passing on single-lane roads, a certain number oflane changes within a certain amount of time or distance, fast lanechange, cutting off other vehicles during lane-change speeding, runninga red light, running a stop sign, and/or other driving maneuvers.

A driving context may refer to one or more conditions around and/orinside vehicle 11. The condition around and/or inside a vehicle mayrefer to one or more permanent and/or transitory state of theenvironment around and/or inside the vehicle that may impact thedriver's ability to operate the vehicle and/or the operation of thevehicle. A specific driving context may be defined by one or more ofspecific visual information, specific audio information, specific motioninformation, specific acceleration information, specific locationinformation, specific spatial information, specific orientationinformation, specific tilt information, specific inclination/declinationinformation, specific vibration information, specific time information,specific vehicle status information, specific driver status information,and/or other specific driving behavior information.

By way of non-limiting example, the specific driving context may includelocation of vehicle 11 (e.g., on or off different types of road, insideor outside different types of structure, on or of a driving shoulder, ona slope, altitude, etc.), condition around vehicle 11 (e.g., weather,rain, snow, hail, fog, temperature, humidity, lighting condition,visibility, time of day, traffic information, grade of road, road typesurface, slippery or icy surface, etc.), proximity and/or orientation toobjects near vehicle 11, geofence around vehicle 11, condition insidevehicle 11, passengers or objects inside vehicle 11, lighting conditioninside vehicle 11, sound condition inside vehicle 11, and/or otherdriving context.

A vehicle status may refer to one or more conditions of vehicle 11. Thecondition of a vehicle may refer to one or more permanent and/ortransitory state of the vehicle, including one or more operating stateof the vehicle and/or one or more components of the vehicle, that mayimpact the driver's ability to operate the vehicle and/or the operationof the vehicle. A specific vehicle status may be defined by one or morespecific vehicle status information and/or other specific drivingbehavior information. The specific vehicle status may include specificinformation regarding one or more of physical features of vehicle 11,including type, size, weight and/or other physical features of vehicle11, load of vehicle 11, including type, size, weight, loading status,and/or other status of load of vehicle 11, and/or mechanical systems ofvehicle 11.

By way of non-limiting example, the specific vehicle status may includespecific status of engine, drive train, light system, breaking system,transmission, fuel delivery system, and/or other mechanical systems,amount of fuel, temperature of engine, temperature inside and/or outsidevehicle 11, amount of air pressure inside one or more tires, whether oneor more tires are flat, gear in use, whether horn is being used, whetherseatbelt is being used, whether one or more doors are open or closed,whether vehicle 11 is operating (e.g., turned on and/or being driven,etc.), how long vehicle 11 has been operating, whether vehicle 11 is notoperating (e.g., turned off and/or not being driven, etc.), how longvehicle 11 has not been operating, how long vehicle 11 has not beenoperating when vehicle 11 is operated (e.g., turned on and/or beingdriven, etc.), and/or other specific vehicle status.

A driver status may refer to one or more conditions of the driver ofvehicle 11. The condition of a driver may refer to one or more permanentand/or transitory state of the driver, including one or more physicaland/or emotional state of the driver, that may impact the driver'sability to operate the vehicle and/or the operation of the vehicle. Aspecific driver status may be defined by one or more specific driverstatus information and/or other specific driving behavior information.

By way of non-limiting example, the specific driver status may includewhether the driver is alert, whether driver is sleepy or sleeping,whether driver is using a headphone, whether driver is watching theroad, whether the driver is distracted, whether the driver is watchingTV, whether the driver is eating, whether the driver is driving with onehand, whether the driver is talking on the phone, and/or other specificdriver status.

Feedback component 22 may be configured to obtain feedback informationregarding the specific driving behavior. The feedback information maydefine feedback regarding the specific driving behavior to be providedto the driver. Such feedback information may define feedback type(s) forthe feedback, information to be provided to the driver in the feedback,and/or other aspects of the feedback. The feedback type(s) may includeone or more of visual feedback, audio feedback, haptic feedback, and/orother feedback.

The information to be provided to the driver may include one or more ofidentification of the specific driving behavior, description of thespecific driving behavior, the driving behavior information, instructionregarding the specific driving behavior, warning regarding the specificdriving behavior, and/or any other communicable information. By way ofnon-limiting example, feedback information may include an identificationthat a tire of vehicle 11 is low on air pressure, a descriptionregarding off-the-road location of vehicle 11, a visual image of objectsbehind vehicle 11, an instruction to fill up the gas tank of vehicle 11at the next stop, a warning that the speed of vehicle 11 is faster thanthe speeding limit, and/or any other communication.

The feedback information may be programmed into feedback component 22,updated by feedback component 22, obtained by feedback component 22 fromelectronic storage 13, obtained by feedback component 22 from remotelocation, and/or obtained by feedback component 22 in other ways. Forexample, the feedback information may be a voice recording of thedriver's supervisor regarding the specific driving behavior that isremotely obtained by feedback component 22.

Provision component 23 may be configured to effectuate provision offeedback defined by the feedback information to the driver of vehicle11. In some implementations, provision component 23 may be configured toeffectuate the provision of the feedback to the driver by operating oneor more feedback devices 15, including one or more of display 16,speaker 17, haptic generator 18, and/or other feedback devices. By wayof non-limiting example, provision component 23 may effectuate theprovision of the feedback by operating display 16 and speaker 17.Display 16 may display the feedback information while speaker 17 audiblycommunicates the feedback information or produces sound to indicate tothe driver that the feedback information is displayed on display 16. Insome implementations, provision component 23 may be configured to selectone or more of feedback devices 15, including one or more display 16,speaker 17, haptic generator 18, and/or other feedback devices, toeffectuate the provision of the feedback to the driver.

Response component 24 may be configured to assess responsiveness of thedriver to the feedback based on the driving behavior informationobtained during and/or subsequent to the provision of the feedback.Responsiveness of the driver may refer to how the driver acts whenfeedback is provided to the driver. How a driver acts may refer to anyor no changes made by the driver, during and/or subsequent to theprovision of the feedback, that may impact the driver's ability tooperate the vehicle and/or the operation of the vehicle. Assessing theresponsiveness of the driver to the feedback may include measuring theamount of time the driver takes to respond to the feedback, measuringthe amount of driving changes the driver makes to the feedback,determining whether the driver ignores the feedback, and/or any othercomparison between the driving behavior information obtained prior tothe provision of the feedback and the driving behavior informationobtained during and/or subsequent to the provision of the feedback. Forexample, assessing responsiveness of a driver to feedback regardingvehicle 11 being close to a guard rail may include determining how farthe driver moves vehicle 11 away from the guard rail and how long ittakes for the driver to move vehicle 11 away from the guard rail afterthe feedback provision.

The operation of vehicle 11 during and/or subsequent to the provision ofthe feedback may be characterized by different type of information fromthose relating to one or more of the specific driving maneuver, thespecific driving context, the specific vehicle status, the specificdriver status, and/or the other specific driving behavior correspondingto the specific driving behavior. By way of non-limiting example,determining whether a driver ignores feedback regarding an open door(for example, as indicated by vehicle status information) may includereviewing visual information inside vehicle 11 during and/or subsequentto the provision of the feedback to confirm that display 16 is providingthe feedback information to the driver, and/or reviewing audioinformation inside vehicle 11 during and/or subsequent to the provisionof the feedback to confirm that speaker 17 is providing the feedbackinformation to the driver. If display 16 and/or speaker 17 is notproviding the feedback information to the driver, response component 24may determine that the driver is ignoring the feedback by having turnedoff or disconnected display 16 and/or speaker 17.

In some implementations, assessing responsiveness of the driver to thefeedback may include determining driver responsiveness information. Thedriver responsiveness information may include one or more of the drivingbehavior information, the feedback information, information relating tothe provision of the feedback, including how and which one or more offeedback devices 15, including one or more of display 16, speaker 17,haptic generator 18, and/or other feedback devices, was operated toeffectuate the provision of the feedback, information relating to thetrigger, information relating to the responsiveness of the driver to thefeedback, and/or other driver responsiveness information.

In some implementations, response component 24 may be configured todetermine a driver responsiveness rating. The driver responsivenessrating may include one or more measurement and/or evaluation of thedriver's responsiveness to the feedback. The driver responsivenessrating may use one or more characters, alphabetic characters, words,numeric characters, numbers, alphanumeric characters, roman numerals,special characters, percentages, colors, and/or other ratings. Thedriver responsiveness rating may reflect one or more of quality and/orquantity of the driver's responsiveness to the feedback. For example, adriver responsiveness rating for feedback regarding vehicle 11 beingclose to a guard rail may include a grade between A-F for how far thedriver moves vehicle 11 away from the guard rail and a color to indicatehow long it takes for the driver to move vehicle 11 away from the guardrail.

In some implementations, response component 24 may be configured toeffectuate storage of the driver responsiveness information. The driverresponsiveness information may be stored in electronic storage 13. Insome implementations, response component 24 may be configured toeffectuate retrieval of prior driver responsiveness information. Theprior driver responsiveness information may include driverresponsiveness information stored in electronic storage 13.

In some implementations, response component 24 may be configured toassess the responsiveness of the driver to the feedback based on theprior driver responsiveness information. In some implementations,response component 24 may compare current responsiveness of the driverto the feedback with prior driver responsiveness information. By way ofnon-limiting example, response component 24 may compare currentresponsiveness of the driver to the feedback with the driver'shistorical responsiveness reflected in the prior driver responsivenessinformation. In some implementations, response component 24 may assessresponsiveness of the driver to the feedback by taking into account theprior driver responsiveness information.

In some implementations, the current responsiveness and the prior driverresponsiveness information are based on the same trigger. In someimplementations, the current responsiveness and the prior driverresponsiveness information are based on different triggers. In someimplementations, the current responsiveness and the prior driverresponsiveness information are based on the same type of feedbackprovision. In some implementations, the current responsiveness and theprior driver responsiveness information are based on different types offeedback provision. For example, response component 24 may assessresponsiveness of a driver to feedback regarding vehicle 11 being closeto a guard rail by reviewing the driver's prior driver responsiveness tofeedback regarding vehicle 11 being close to guard rails. If the priordriver responsiveness information indicates that the driver hasrepeatedly driven close to guard rails, response component 24 maydetermine a worse driver responsiveness rating for the driver than ifthe prior driver responsiveness information indicates that the driverhas infrequently driven close to guard rails.

In some implementations, feedback adjustment component 25 may determinefeedback type(s) for the feedback. Feedback adjustment component 25 mayselect one or more of feedback devices 15, including one or more display16, speaker 17, haptic generator 18, and/or other feedback devices,based on the prior driver responsiveness information. In someimplementations, feedback adjustment component 25 may make suchselection based on which type of feedback provision leads to betterdriver responsiveness to feedback. For example, the prior driverresponsiveness information may indicate that the driver of vehicle 11 ismost responsive to feedback provided through speaker 17 and hapticgenerator 18, and feedback adjustment component 25 may select speaker 17and haptic generator 18 to effectuate provision of the feedback. In someimplementations, feedback adjustment component 25 may update feedbacktype(s) in feedback information

Although first processor 12 a and second processor 12 b are shown inFIG. 1 as separate single entities, this is for illustrative purposesonly. In some implementations, first processor 12 a and/or secondprocessor 12 b may comprise a plurality of processing units. Theseprocessing units may be physically located within the same device (e.g.,a vehicle event recorder), or first processor 12 a and/or secondprocessor 12 b may represent processing functionality of a plurality ofdevices operating in coordination.

In some implementations, first processor 12 a and second processor 12 bmay together comprise a single processor. By way of non-limitingexample, first processor 12 a and second processor 12 b may be locatedin a single processing unit or a plurality of processing unitsphysically located within the same device. By way of non-limitingexample, first processor 12 a and second processor 12 b may be locatedin a server located remotely from vehicle 11 and may communicate withsensor 14, display 16, speaker 17, haptic generator 18, and/or othercomponents over network 19. By way of non-limiting example, firstprocessor 12 a and second processor 12 b may be a single processorlocated in a vehicle event recorder of vehicle 11.

FIG. 2 illustrates method 200 to determine responsiveness of a driver tofeedback regarding driving behaviors. The operations of method 200presented below are intended to be illustrative. In someimplementations, method 200 may be accomplished with one or moreadditional operations not described, and/or without one or more of theoperations discussed. In some implementations, two or more of theoperations may occur substantially simultaneously.

In some implementations, method 200 may be implemented in one or moreprocessing devices (e.g., a digital processor, an analog processor, adigital circuit designed to process information, a central processingunit, a graphics processing unit, a microcontroller, an analog circuitdesigned to process information, a state machine, and/or othermechanisms for electronically processing information). The one or moreprocessing devices may include one or more devices executing some or allof the operations of method 200 in response to instructions storedelectronically on one or more electronic storage mediums. The one ormore processing devices may include one or more devices configuredthrough hardware, firmware, and/or software to be specifically designedfor execution of one or more of the operations of method 200.

Referring to FIG. 2 and method 200, at operation 201, driving behaviorinformation characterizing operation of a vehicle by a driver may begenerated. The driving behavior information may include one or more ofvisual information, audio information, motion information, accelerationinformation, location information, spatial information, orientationinformation, tilt information, inclination/declination information,vibration information, time information, vehicle status information,driver status information, and/or other driving behavior information. Insome implementations, operation 201 may be performed by one or moresensors the same as or similar to sensor 14 (shown in FIG. 1 anddescribed herein).

At operation 202, the driving behavior information characterizing theoperation of the vehicle by the driver may be obtained. In someimplementations, operation 202 may be performed by a processor componentthe same as or similar to sensing component 20 (shown in FIG. 1 anddescribed herein).

At operation 203, an occurrence of a trigger, the trigger indicating aspecific driving behavior, may be determined. The specific drivingbehavior may include one or more of specific driving maneuver, specificdriving context, specific vehicle status, specific driver status, and/orother specific driving behavior. The occurrence of the trigger may bedetermined based on occurrence of one or more of the specific drivingmaneuver, the specific driving context, the specific vehicle status, thespecific driver status, and/or the other specific driving behavior. Insome implementations, operation 203 may be performed by a processorcomponent the same as or similar to trigger component 21 (shown in FIG.1 and described herein).

At operation 204, feedback information regarding the specific drivingbehavior may be obtained. The feedback information may define feedbackregarding the specific driving behavior to be provided to the driver.Such feedback information may define feedback type(s) for the feedback,information to be provided to the driver in the feedback, and/or otheraspects of the feedback. The feedback type(s) may include one or more ofvisual feedback, audio feedback, haptic feedback, and/or other feedback.The information to be provided to the driver may include one or more ofidentification of the specific driving behavior, description of thespecific driving behavior, the driving behavior information, instructionregarding the specific driving behavior, warning regarding the specificdriving behavior, and/or any other communicable information. In someimplementations, operation 204 may be performed by a processor componentthe same as or similar to feedback component 22 (shown in FIG. 1 anddescribed herein).

At operation 205, provision of feedback defined by the feedbackinformation may be effectuated to the driver. In some implementations,operation 205 may be performed by a processor component the same as orsimilar to provision component 23 (shown in FIG. 1 and describedherein). In some implementations, operation 205 may be performed usingone or more of feedback devices 15, including one or more of display 16,speaker 17, haptic generator 18, and/or other feedback devices (shown inFIG. 1 and described herein).

At operation 206, driving behavior information characterizing operationof the vehicle by the driver during and/or subsequent to the feedbackprovision may be generated. The driving behavior information may includeone or more of visual information, audio information, motioninformation, acceleration information, location information, spatialinformation, orientation information, tilt information,inclination/declination information, vibration information, timeinformation, vehicle status information, driver status information,and/or other driving behavior information. In some implementations,operation 206 may be performed by one or more sensors the same as orsimilar to sensor 14 (shown in FIG. 1 and described herein).

At operation 207, the driving behavior information characterizing theoperation of the vehicle by the driver during and/or subsequent to thefeedback provision may be obtained. In some implementations, operation207 may be performed by a processor component the same as or similar tosensing component 20 (shown in FIG. 1 and described herein).

At operation 208, responsiveness of the driver to the feedback may beassessed. Assessing the responsiveness of the driver to the feedback mayinclude measuring the amount of time the driver takes to respond to thefeedback, measuring the amount of driving changes the driver makes tothe feedback, determining whether the driver ignores the feedback,and/or any other comparison between the driving behavior informationobtained prior to the provision of the feedback and the driving behaviorinformation obtained during and/or subsequent to the provision of thefeedback. In some implementations, operation 208 may be performed by aprocessor component the same as or similar to response component 24(shown in FIG. 1 and described herein).

Although the system(s) and/or method(s) of this disclosure have beendescribed in detail for the purpose of illustration based on what iscurrently considered to be the most practical and preferredimplementations, it is to be understood that such detail is solely forthat purpose and that the disclosure is not limited to the disclosedimplementations, but, on the contrary, is intended to covermodifications and equivalent arrangements that are within the spirit andscope of the appended claims. For example, it is to be understood thatthe present disclosure contemplates that, to the extent possible, one ormore features of any implementation can be combined with one or morefeatures of any other implementation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system configured to determine responsivenessof a driver of a vehicle to being prompted regarding driving behaviors,the system comprising: a sensor configured to generate output signalsconveying driving behavior information regarding operation of thevehicle, wherein the sensor is carried by and integrated in the vehicle;a display configured to provide information to the driver of thevehicle, wherein the display is integrated in the vehicle; and one ormore processors configured by machine-readable instructions to: prompt,through the display that is integrated in the vehicle, the driver tocurb occurrences of a specific driving behavior by the driver, whereinthe specific driving behavior characterizes operation of the vehicle bythe driver; obtain, by the one or more processors, the driving behaviorinformation that characterizes operation of the vehicle by the driversubsequent to prompting the driver, wherein the driving behaviorinformation is based on the output signals generated by the sensor thatis carried by and integrated in the vehicle; and assess, by the one ormore processors, responsiveness of the driver to being prompted, whereinassessment of the responsiveness is based on the driving behaviorinformation, wherein the assessment of the responsiveness of the driverincludes a determination whether the driver has curbed the occurrencesof the specific driving behavior subsequent to being prompted, andwherein the determination is based on whether one or more occurrences ofthe specific driving behavior are included in the driving behaviorinformation.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or moreprocessors are further configured to: obtain feedback informationcorrelating to the specific driving behavior, wherein prompting thedriver is accomplished by providing feedback to the driver in thevehicle, wherein the feedback is defined by the feedback information. 3.The system of claim 2, wherein the one or more processors are furtherconfigured to effectuate provision of the feedback to the driver byoperating one or more different feedback generators, wherein the one ormore different feedback generators include a display, a speaker, and/ora haptic generator.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the one or moreprocessors are further configured to generate a driver responsivenessrating, the driver responsiveness rating characterizing whether thedriver has curbed the occurrences of the specific driving behavior andwhich individual feedback generator of the one or more differentfeedback generators has been most effective in curbing the specificdriving behavior by the driver.
 5. The system of claim 2, wherein theone or more processors are further configured to: effectuate storage ofdriver responsiveness information, the driver responsiveness informationincluding one or more of the driving behavior information and/orinformation relating to the responsiveness of the driver to thefeedback; and effectuate retrieval of previously stored driverresponsiveness information.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein the one ormore processors are further configured to select one or more of adisplay, a speaker, and/or a haptic generator to effectuate theprovision of the feedback to the driver, wherein such selection is basedon the previously stored driver responsiveness information.
 7. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the sensor includes one or more of an imagesensor, an audio sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, avehicle speed sensor, a wheel speed sensor, a proximity sensor, apressure sensor, a seat belt sensor, an accelerometer, a tilt sensor, aninclination sensor, an angular rate sensor, a gyroscope, a geolocationsensor, a magnetometer, a radar detector, a radar sensor, a vibrationsensor, a light detection sensor, an ECM sensor, a physiological sensor,a tachograph, and/or a user input device.
 8. The system of claim 1,wherein the driving behavior information includes one or more of visualinformation, audio information, motion information, accelerationinformation, location information, spatial information, orientationinformation, tilt information, inclination/declination information,vibration information, time information, vehicle status information,and/or driver status information.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein theone or more processors comprise a first processor located on or in thevehicle and a second processor remotely located from the vehicle.
 10. Amethod to determine responsiveness of a driver of a vehicle to beingprompted regarding driving behaviors, the method comprising: generating,by a sensor carried by and integrated in the vehicle, output signalsconveying driving behavior information regarding operation of thevehicle; prompting, through a display that is integrated in the vehicle,the driver to curb occurrences of a specific driving behavior by thedriver, wherein the specific driving behavior characterizes operation ofthe vehicle by the driver; obtaining the driving behavior informationthat characterizes the operation of the vehicle by the driver subsequentto prompting the driver, wherein the driving behavior information isbased on the output signals generated by the sensor that is carried byand integrated in the vehicle; and assessing responsiveness of thedriver to being prompted, wherein assessment of the responsiveness isbased on the driving behavior information, wherein the assessment of theresponsiveness of the driver includes a determination whether the driverhas curbed the occurrences of the specific driving behavior subsequentto being prompted, and wherein the determination is based on whether oneor more occurrences of the specific driving behavior are included in thedriving behavior information.
 11. The method of claim 10, furthercomprising: obtaining feedback information correlating to the specificdriving behavior, wherein prompting the driver is accomplished byproviding feedback to the driver in the vehicle, wherein the feedback isdefined by the feedback information.
 12. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising effectuating storage of driver responsiveness information,the driver responsiveness information including one or more of thedriving behavior information and/or information relating to theresponsiveness of the driver to the feedback.
 13. The method of claim12, wherein assessing the responsiveness of the driver to the feedbacktakes into account the stored driver responsiveness information.
 14. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the sensor includes one or more of an imagesensor, an audio sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, avehicle speed sensor, a wheel speed sensor, a proximity sensor, apressure sensor, a seat belt sensor, an accelerometer, a tilt sensor, aninclination sensor, an angular rate sensor, a gyroscope, a geolocationsensor, a magnetometer, a radar detector, a radar sensor, a vibrationsensor, a light detection sensor, an ECM sensor, a physiological sensor,a tachograph, and/or a user input device.
 15. The method of claim 10,further comprising generating a driver responsiveness rating, the driverresponsiveness rating characterizing whether the driver has curbed theoccurrences of the specific driving behavior subsequent to beingprompted.
 16. The method of claim 10, wherein the driving behaviorinformation includes one or more of visual information, audioinformation, motion information, acceleration information, locationinformation, spatial information, orientation information, tiltinformation, inclination/declination information, vibration information,time information, vehicle status information, and/or driver statusinformation.